Burning Dahlias
by Muse's Hysteria
Summary: My embellishment of Maia's story. I'm just improvising and being creative. All chapters are named after songs.
1. Can't Stop Feeling

It was not a fitting day for a funeral. Everything was doused in zealous golden rays, and green light filtered through onto the tombstones from oak trees that provided breath above. To Maia, however, it was an appropriate day for her brother's funeral. For her, it was a celebration. Of course, she should have been mourning along with all else who were present at the service though she still could not overcome the utter _relief _that she felt knowing that her brother's cold, lifeless body would be buried deep beneath that earth where it could no longer plague her. She dipped her head and stared at the concrete of the cemetery avoiding the eyes of her sorrowful relatives, only feeling slightly guilty.

She could feel her mother quivering next to her with contained tears and her father's firm hand on her shoulder. She blocked out the preacher's monotonous droning and looked at the coffin. Her brother, Daniel had been her sole tormentor since his birth. He was perfect in her parents eyes for they were blinded by his beauty and could not even bare to excavate further into his . . . evil intentions. He was the kind of boy who smiled innocuously when required and then turned around to scheme another vicious plot. He would burn the wings off of butterflies and watch their decrepit bodies flutter to the ground, laughing the whole time. He stoned cats and stole things from his parents, placing the blame on others. He was also bent on torturing Maia, switching her shampoo with bleach and pinching her where it wouldn't show, concealed by her clothing. Maia had considered telling her parents though knew that he would always win. His parents, along with the majority of the world confused his good looks with innocence and harmlessness. Now he was gone, unable to harm her any longer. Maia could not help but feel happy.

The ceremony continued dully and the tears began to subside. Then, people who Maia barely knew came up giving her hugs of consolation and words of encouragement. She didn't hear them and their words were lost as if she were underwater. She could only think of how her liberation would not last long, and soon she would be smote by the cosmic powers, punished for her happiness. But at the moment, she couldn't have cared less.

_______________________________________________________

Life after Daniel's death was surprisingly bitter sweet. Her parents sunk into an irreversibly morose state and rarely spoke. Any reminder to Daniel caused them both to grow terse and sullenly nostalgic. Maia could often hear her mother's anguished sobs through the walls at night. This did, in affect, pain Maia though she was still pleased by the thought of her brother's passing. It was a morbid fact, but a fact nonetheless.

She began to have horridly vivid nightmares. He would always see him from a distance at first and then, upon spotting her, he would saunter slowly to her side, making each step a mocking gesture. She would be consumed by a desire to flee though she stood rooted in place, petrified by her own fear and guilt. To anyone else, this would not be a concern but for Maia every moment was insufferable torture. She tried, ineffectually, to forget him, to remind herself that he was gone, that he no longer posed a threat though the dreams continued and she grew restless and anxious.

Sometimes she would catch her mother, Claire, staring at her peculiarly. She would always smile and then look away, preoccupy herself with something else though Maia was oddly disturbed by the way she looked at her. It was a look of contempt and distain. It was as if she wished that Maia had been the one that had been hit by the car and not Daniel. It was as if she were responsible for her brother's passing. It was as if she was worthless and unworthy of life. She shook these thoughts off, thinking that solitude had made her paranoid. The concept always lingered however and every time Claire watched her in that way, the paranoia raged.

______________________________________________________________________

She walked into the coffee shop and slipped into line. She watched as hurried activity flourished and people chattered excitedly. Someone in front of her cleared his throat. She looked up at the cashier with an ever-so-bored look and stare of impatience.

"Um, I'll have one grande decaf." She made it sound like a question and he looked at her strangely. "Wait, wait, no. Could you make that a regular?" she asked after second thought. She needed caffeine and felt horribly drowsy. She had been up all night, fearful of more horrific nightmares. They always tended to get worse, more and intense, when she was going to go visit Daniel. The cashier looked quite irritated and looked about ready to pop. She decided to push him jus a bit further and fished the appropriate money from her pocket slowly, counting out the change and then purposefully ignored the tip jar with a mocking smile.

She stood in the corner, waiting for her coffee. With a smirk, she wondered if maybe she would find a coughed up piece of phlegm in her coffee and idly examined her nails that had been bitten down to form jagged crescents.

Someone came to stand next to her, waiting as well. She peeked over her shoulder to see a boy leaning against the wall calmly. He was the very typical guy who's good-looking and knows it too. He wasn't very original, long dark hair, playfully menacing charcoal eyes that seemed to be able to mentally undress you. Maia turned and ignored him with a sigh well acquainted and wary of his type.

"I hate that I'm addicted to this stuff," he grumbled. "I mean honestly, where do these people get off when they make you order using 'tall' 'grande' or' veinti' when all you want is a freaking 'small' 'medium' or 'large'? And then they overcharge you!"

She thought that he was talking to himself or perhaps to someone else close in proximity and hearing range. It shocked her when he turned to smirk smugly at her and cross his arms over a faded indie-rocker t-shirt splatter with paint.

She struggled to regain composure. "We'll we're all addicted. They can do whatever the hell they want."

He shrugged, "It's just very irritating." He turned to her. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Maia raised an eyebrow. "I'm not one to complain. If you don't like it, you don't have to give them your business."

"But that's the _point,_" he argued. "I'm too damn dependant on my morning caffeine hype."

Maia made a gesture that vaguely translated to "whatever" and returned to examining her cuticles.

"I'm Jordan, by the way" he persisted.

Maia bit back some irritation. "Charmed, I'm sure," she muttered.

"One grande decaf for Maia," the boy from the cash register called. Maia sighed, remembering that she had ordered a regular. She walked toward the door, venturing one last glace at Jordan still slouched against the wall, smirking.

"Leaving already?" he asked, his warm eyes coolly examining her.

She stopped, door partially opened, and smiled at him tersely. "Sorry I couldn't stay and chat, I'm in a hurry. My parents and I are visiting my brothers gravesite and I can't miss it." Maia turned and stalked through the door before he could form and response. Pulling up her hood, she ventured into the drizzling rain. Although she didn't look back, she could feel his gaze appraising her every step and got into her car, perturbed and disoriented.


	2. Soul Meets Body

The cemetery looked desolate and ominous through the curtain of lightly pattering rain, in the way cemeteries should appear. Maia got out of the car and trudged up to where her parents were waiting, hearing the soft crunching of gravel underfoot. A fresh bunch of flaming orange and dark red dahlias were laid across his grave. Jonathan and Claire Cole stood in front of their deceased son's resting place, staring at their son's tomb stone. The epitaph read

"Beloved son, brother, fighter and protector. May he rest in peace."

Maia stared at the words blankly .She squeezed her eyes tight and held herself together trying to get rid of the unwanted memories.

_She was sitting calmly on the edge of the peer her leg dangling off the edge as the swishing movement made concentric ripples in the cold lake water. She let the sun warm her shoulders and closed her eyes, only vaguely aware of the approaching footsteps. She felt a warm breath in her ear and then she was gasping and treading water. She looked up to see Daniel's smiling face surrounded by a background of flawlessly blue sky. He turned to wink at some giggling girls on the beach in skimpy bikinis and then turned back to her to grin wickedly._

"_How's the water?" _

"_Asshole," Maia murmured. It was one of his less nasty ploys, though she was never a comfortable swimmer and could feel the cold seeping into her through her t-shirt which was now plastered to her. Almost childishly she said, "Fuck you, Daniel."_

"_What time?" he asked with a grin._

_She glowered at him and sniffed, turning to swim to the shore feeling resentment and humiliated. _

Her flashback ended and Maia came back to the present.

"You're late," Jonathan said without looking at her. She was broken from her reverie and shook her head to clear her mind.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"You went to get _coffee_?" Claire asked outraged.

"I lost track of time," she said, trying to mask her exasperation.

They stared absently at the crypt for a few minutes, each in their own world.

"I can't believe you were out getting coffee," Claire exclaimed again.

Maia let out an irritated sigh and walked over to a garbage can and dumped her coffee in one fluid movement.

"Happy?"

"Well, now you just wasted it," Jonathan mumbled.

Maia clenched her fists though said nothing. She was used to her own failure in her parent's eyes. She could do no right and did not bother to extend herself when the point was futile. She stared at the ground and let the silence engulf her. She tried to grieve, tired to be solemn, though she only thought of that lost coffee and Jordan. She couldn't help but think about him. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and walked away from her grieving parents.

Other families walked by them all with grim looks of sorrow imprinted upon their faces. The soft pattering of the rain was an underlying beat for their sad whispers. The overall effect was eerie to say the least. The living and dead were here, separated by a thin line that could easily break at any moment. Maia shuddered.

"Should we get going? I'm soaked," Jonathan murmured turning away from Daniel's grave.

Claire did not respond and stood transfixed. He walked over to her and gathered her in an awkward, one-armed hug. She was sobbing and tried to say something though it was nearly indistinguishable and could vaguely be translated to "I miss him" repeated over and over again. After a while, she pulled away, reassuring her husband that she was alright. Jonathan drew up to his full height and ran a hand through his hair which was graying at the temples, exhaling heavily.

Claire turned to Maia who was pushing the gravel into piles with her feet.

"Maia, we're going to go to a dinner party tomorrow night, you should come."

Maia stared at her blankly.

"The Collin's will be there," she continued nervously, "and I know that Aaron was really looking forward to seeing you so. . ."

Realization struck Maia like a blow. Her parents wanted things to return back to normal, and for that to happen Maia, had to take the place that Daniel left behind. Maia had to be their golden child, happy, care-free, charming and innocent. They criticized her because she wasn't what they wanted, and in a way, they'd always resent her for that.

Maia felt rebellious. She didn't _want _to be the plan-b in her parents' lives, and she sure as hell didn't want to be living in Daniel's shadow.

"I'll think about it," she replied curtly.

"It'd just be a nice gesture if you came," her mother said and turned away.

Maia watched her parents walk arm and arm, wondering if she could ever fill the void in her parents' hearts.


	3. Savior

**NOTE: I know I haven't written a lot or updated in months. I've just been so busy lately. I really want to write more and I hope that I'll summon the enthusiasm to post more often. This is just a quick chapter I wanted to get out. **

Maia was in a park by herself. She could tell it was wintertime from lifeless, skeletal trees and the looming grey of the clouds overhead. She was sitting on a bench, under a tree alone. Maia was happy in this place. She wasn't worrying about any of her family problems or thinking about anything other than the steady rhythmic way of the world. It beat in tune with Maia's own heart, methodically marking the passing of the seconds.

Suddenly, the sky began to become more indistinct. Things grew out of focus and hazy, flickering in an out of focus. Maia became alarmed and panicked. Her heart raced and the tempo of the world palpated with her. And there he was: smiling, calm and confident. As the world went wayward, morphing into something unrecognizable, he remained the same as ever. He pursed his lips and gave a smug smirk of satisfaction and slowly walked toward Maia.

He offered his hand to her. "Come with me. I'm what your world has forgotten. I just want to save you while there's still something left to save."

She looked up into his flawless eyes; there was something devious in them. It was gone in a flash and Maia bit her lip. She took the plunge and leapt, taking his hand. As soon as they came into contact everything went black. Maia was back into reality, in her room. It was morning and she had the whole day ahead of her.


	4. Let Go

After school, Maia took the bus to Flax, the small art supply store where she works. She didn't really need the money but it was more time she could delay returning home.

That afternoon was especially slow. Maia tapped her nails impatiently on the counter; not a soul had entered the store in over an hour. At least she was getting paid she told herself to fight off the boredom. Maia hated boredom. It did crazy thing to your mind and made you start thinking about things you wished had never come up. She sighed and decided to take inventory. Again.

She reached up the rearrange some of the canvasses, struggling to reach the ones on the top shelf. She tried to leap and grasp them but it was just too high. Then, suddenly, she felt a form behind her and a pair of hands rose above her, moving the canvasses into order. She spun around, shocked, to find a familiar mischievous face smirking at her.

"Sorry," he said in the least apologetic way possible. "Did I scare you?"

"Yeah, actually, you did," she responded bitterly.

He handed the canvases to her. "Sorry 'bout that. Just trying to help."

"I didn't ask for it," she said quickly.

"You know," he said, "asking for help doesn't make you any more vulnerable."

She shrugged and averted her eyes. "Just a habit, I guess." They remained silent for a moment. "How did you find me here?" she asked.

"How do you know I'm not in here just for art supplies?" He was so smug and Maia hated him for it. She scowled and Jordan retracted his grin.

"I found out where you worked from a friend . . ." he said slowly as if he didn't quite believe it himself.

Maia scoffed at his reply. For such a beguiling person, he wasn't a very good liar. She didn't think it was worth perusing.

"So what do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest and looking at her frayed sneakers to avoid eye contact.

He laughed in a way that made Maia uncomfortable, like she was missing out on the joke.

"Well, it's past five and I thought you might need a coffee pick-me-up," he said.

"Kinda busy here."

He looked around the store. "With what?"

She sighed, "I have a responsibility to stay 'til six. I can't just leave."

"Why not?"

"You ask too many questions."

"Listen," he said, looking at her meaningfully, "haven't you ever done something you're not supposed to do? It's not like anyone's gunna get hurt if the art supply story closes a little earlier than usual. No one gets hurt and you get a break. Looks like you need it."

Maia didn't say anything; she was still trapped in his gaze and his molten honey eyes.

"What if there's an emergency?" she asked feebly.

"There won't be; trust me."

Maia ran out of excuses. She closed up the store and they left.

It was when Jordan dropped Maia off. It was later than Maia usually returned home and she insisted that he park two blocks from where she lived. She didn't want there to be too many questions. She walked to the door, searching for her keys, humming softly to herself. Her breath came out in billowing white puffs. She slipped inside quietly without turning on the lights.

"Maia?" her mom called from the living room. She was flipping through a magazine in the recliner.

Maia cursed under her breath. "Yeah, it's me."

"Where've you been?" her mom asked without looking up form her reading.

"Ummm just out with…some friends," Maia replied and immediately regretted it. What friends?

"Oh, that's nice, honey."

"Uh-huh, I'm gunna go get some homework done…"

"Alright, good night," she said disinterested

Maia skipped up the stairs, into her room. She closed the door behind her and sat on her bed. She did have homework to do but Maia didn't care. She couldn't stop smiling.


	5. Change Your Mind

The next few weeks were a surreal blur for Maia. After their first night together, she spent all of her free time with Jordan. It didn't matter what they did as long as he was there with her. She caught herself smiling during class for no reason and humming cheerfully under her breath. All of her problems evaporated. She was blissfully unaware, she was love sick and she was happy in a way that she hadn't been in a long time.

Jordan was everything Maia could have wanted before she even knew it. She couldn't believe that he was with her and that he wanted her. They sneaked off together to secret places and he told her she was beautiful in between kisses. He played with her hair and stroked her cheek. He said he loved everything about her, and Maia believed him.

They were always talking to each other sharing things but Maia always felt like she was the exposing herself; Jordan never really told her anything personal about himself. He always managed to change the subject whenever she asked about his family. She tried not to let it bother her.

They were sitting in a park. The trees were beginning to turn and the summer greens were being transformed into flaming oranges and reds. It was the end of summer and school started in a few weeks. Jordan was leaning back on a tree trunk, shredding a piece of grass absently. He kept plucking pieces from the ground, tearing them apart and then flinging them from him when he was done.

Maia sat barefoot in the grass watching a group of kids playing on a merry-go-round. Maia had always disliked playgrounds. She always associated them with Daniel, running rampant across the play structures. She looked away and realized that Jordan was talking to her.

"--I didn't think you would mind," he was saying.

"Hmm?"

Jordan sighed. He hated repeating himself. "There's a party this weekend."

"Oh," Maia said, mulling over her chances of convincing Jordan to do something else. Her odds did not look promising.

"I know you hate parties but could you please just do this? For me." He looked at her pleadingly with his molten eyes and slightly pouting mouth. He always knew how to appeal to her.

"Fine, I'll go," Maia relented and looked away, back to the merry-go-round and the children playing.


End file.
